West Valley MVCD

Printable brochure on gophers 

Gophers

Habits 

Pocket gophers feed on both above and  below ground vegetation.  A soil mound on the surface of the ground is proof of their existence.  Burrow systems consist of a main tunnel and multiple lateral burrows. Mound-building activity usually peaks in spring and fall. Pocket gophers usually breed in the spring and approximately 3 weeks after produce an average litter size of 3-4. 

Damage

Pocket gophers reduce the productivity of alfalfa fields and native grasslands, damage trees , and destroy underground utility cables and irrigation pipes. Protect buried utility cables and irrigation lines by enclosing with lead, PVC, or other conduit materials exceeding 2.9 inches in diameter. Pocket gophers can damage cables armored with soft metals (lead, aluminum) if the diameters are less than 2.9 inches. Crushed rock or gravel greater than 1 inch in diameter placed around cables may protect them.

Management

Gophers are not protected by state or federal laws. When selecting a damage-control program, consider nonlethal measures such as habitat modification or appropriate alfalfa varieties, which are equally cost effective as lethal measures and should minimize adverse environmental impacts. It is important to maintain biodiversity, or to retain the existing plants and animals that may later benefit humans and assist in maintaining ecosystem function.

Rotating alfalfa with grain Crops effectively controls pocket gophers because annual grains do not produce large enough roots to support gophers year round. Flood irrigation can create an inhospitable environment.

Trapping is one of the best methods to reduce the amount of pocket gopher on small to moderate-sized fields (less than 50 acres). If using poison control the animals remains must be removed from properity.  Body-gripping traps (Death Clutch 1, Macabee, Victor, Guardian Gopher Trap), available from hardware and trapping supply stores, work exceptionally well for capturing gophers. Traps can be set in the main tunnel or in a lateral, preferably near the freshest mounds.